Bad experience with damaged item and not getting USPS insurance

[lindaegret8]

I had a very bad experience with a buyer.The item arrived damaged by USPS and I filed a claim but she ignored it.I was told by USPS that she must bring it to her local post office which was in the midwest and I am in the northeast.I was so upset it felt helpless and hopeless- ebay does nothing to insist that the buyer document the damage with the carrier that caused it and embay gave e totally wrong info about the insurance process.Long and short of it is the seller is responsible from beginning to end and there is no rule in place that the buyer has to document the damage.Apparently PayPal does require documentation but not ebay.So with a difficult uncommunicative  buyer my item was never taken to the post office.( this is required by USPS)I refunded the buyer and had a 3 week window for the USPS insurance which the buyer ignored.It was a heavy fragile casserole vintage and gorgeous total loss .Lesson learned the USPS  priority insurance is never going to work unless the buyer cooperates ebay has no provisions in place to make the buyer comply and document the damage.You will be responsible if you have an unhelpful buyer like I did.I will now only use ebay for items that are less prone to breakage and I am going to use many other platforms to sell- I was only using ebay and that will now change- was going to close the account but instead will pare it down and explore all those other possibilities out there.If you send an item priority and feel good that it has the insurance be aware that ebay wont help and if the buyer doesn't cooperate the insurance is worthless as mine was.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

Yep.

You pack for a nuclear war and you ship knowing you may have to hit that refund button and take a total loss. If you aren't comfortable tossing the boxed thing down your stairs, then you repackage it so that you are comfortable, or pay for personal hand carry through USPS. It is possible to purchase this.

Special Handling-Fragile Service can only be purchased at a Post Office™. The fee, which can be found in the Price List, is in addition to postage. Insurance still must be purchased separately and again, your buyer may not comply!

It's not just heavy and fragile, it's car parts, it's electronics, it's anything with a moving part, and I'm sure I forgot some qualifiers for disasterous monetary loss to the seller, besides the obvious buyer fraud. 

That's why so many different types of items, especially those with high shipping costs, are no longer practical items to sell on ebay. I used to sell furniture and...CHANDELIERS! 

[picknparley]

In my experiences as a seller with damaged items shipped through USPS:

I've gone to their website and filed a claim for damage. They want photos of the damaged item, the value, the tracking number, destination address, sending address, etc.  In 9 out of 10 times there's a check in my mailbox within 10-14 days.  Sometimes they adjust the amount paid down from my value given, but they've still been very fair.  Thankfully I've had considerate buyers who oblige me with one or two photos to aid in my postal damage claim. 

Upon the first message from a buyer that they received a damaged item I offer to refund their money, but ask if they would help me with a photograph or two, and I always ask if the box showed damage. Assuring my buyer they will be refunded always seems to make them willing to help me.  Usually my buyer and I are both sad that the item is broken beyond use, many times not replaceable. 

I do tend to pay special attention to my packing, but if you think about what the packages go through it's not surprising that sometimes they just don't make it all in one piece. I've seen boxes with a hole pierced completely through the box. Ya, that one didn't survive!

You might want to try the USPS website claim form. You could include copies of the messages and see if that would be sufficient for USPS to honor the claim. 

Good luck. I hope you have a positive outcome.

[coffeebean832]

Did you contact customer service? @Anonymous has said many times that if a buyer does not cooperate with an insurance claim then eBay may afford some protections to the seller.

[brian@ebay]

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@coffeebean832 wrote:

Did you contact customer service? @Anonymous has said many times that if a buyer does not cooperate with an insurance claim then eBay may afford some protections to the seller.

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Hi @coffeebean832, while the information @Anonymous provided previously was correct at the time, that information no longer matches our current processes. If a seller seeks protections from the shipping carrier then we'll approve a refund (if we're asked to step in) and let the seller and buyer work out the shipping insurance protections with each other. 

It's very uncommon for a buyer to not cooperate with an insurance claim. @lindaegret8 I'm sorry to hear that your buyer hasn't dropped the item off at their local post office. As another mentioned in this thread, there are times when USPS will accept pictures instead of requiring the item be dropped off. It may be worth calling them to see if they'll accept images in this case. Otherwise, USPS may be willing to work with you to arrange picking up for the item from the buyers home instead of having them drop it off (I worked with another seller who was able to have their carrier do this), so that is an avenue that may be worth trying as well.

[brian@ebay]

I also want to add that ShipCover may be a good alternative for some sellers. The feedback I've seen is that filing a claim is simple since it's done on the eBay site, and proving proof of damage is also easy as it's also done through the eBay site. You can find more information about ShipCover here: https://pages.ebay.com/insurance/shipping/shipcover.html

[twnpopcards]

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brian@ebay wrote:

I also want to add that ShipCover may be a good alternative for some sellers. The feedback I've seen is that filing a claim is simple since it's done on the eBay site, and proving proof of damage is also easy as it's also done through the eBay site. You can find more information about ShipCover here: https://pages.ebay.com/insurance/shipping/shipcover.html

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If using ShipCover or any other insurance company make sure to check out exactly what that company will and will not cover as most do have different items that they will exclude even if you have paid insurance on the item.  The Seller is expected to have done the search prior to purchasing the insurance so if it is something they do not cover it is a total waste of money.

[earlyant-77]

I see no reason why a buyer should not have to cooperate with an insurance claim.

[lindaegret8]

Thanks yes I contacted them many times and I got one of the supervisors to admit that they can not force the buyer to follow through on the postal insurance claim.Most people would in good conscience do it but this buyer was difficult and non-communicative from the start and she was a "serial returner" it turns out.Ebay has no requirement to insist the buyer get documentation of the damage they might suggest or strongly advise but it is not a requirement.That is why I was so upset there is no protection for sellers !Had heard it many times but this was proof of it.Ebay did not offer me any protection all they did when the seller initially wouldn't communicate was tell her she needed to email me but she never addressed the damage issue- she just wanted to know when her refund was coming.Then she harassed me by email for 3 days because she had paid by credit card and was getting an echeck and the irony is ebay blocked her ( their suggestion)but once again no mention of taking the damaged heavy item in to be evaluated.There is a time limit after about 3 weeks the claim is void with usps if it is not brought in and we are at the 3 week mark on Feb21- long and short of it I called ebay at least 10 times and I also wrote a letter which was useless- I got stock replies- in the past I have gotten a well spoken individual from corporate but it was a different case .It was a helpless hopeless situation and ebay offered NO support through customer service at all- so basically the priority mail insurance is at the discretion of the buyer ebay DOES NOTHING TO REQUIRE DOCUMENTATION OF DAMAGE AND MAKES NO EFFORT TO HAVE THE BUYER SUBMIT IT TO THEIR POST OFFICE thanks!

[lindaegret8]

Unfortunately I went to several post offices and they all insisted that the item is brought in it is never done by photo- I live in a large city and I was told the claim is filed online but the evaluation is done in the post office- I also called the 800 # and they said the same thing .I was told by one supervisor at a post office that there is a whole room devoted to items waiting to be evaluated for damage.I think my buyer was not an honest person she never communicated about the damage except to post 2 photos ebay  of how the box was punctured so ebay saw the damage but did nothing- I immediately filed the USPSclaim but to no avail  the buyer stubbornly refused to follow up on it- now it is too late.The item was a heavy vintage casserole dish- total loss and aggravation- but be aware I was told the item is only evaluated in person by the post office ( I went to 3 in my area)I never had damage before but I had a lost item which was retrieved by USPS in about a month after reporting it lost but it involved myriad phone calls and once again the buyers local post office was the contact point.They have no provision for photos maybe after the item is evaluated in person they accept photos but unfortunately I never got to find out because the buyer was irresponsible.

[true-blue1]

That is how we do it too. We go to the USPS web site and file a claim ourselve. Buyers always uploaded damaged pictures to ebay. I would save the image on my PC and then upload into the USPS site. We would get the insurance check within two weeks or so.

[lindaegret8]

Ebay has no provision to force a buyer to cooperate with a postal claim - apparently PayPal DOES require documentation but not ebay.I was told by an ebay supervisor that if a buyer doesn't want to cooperate with the USPS claim ebay can not force them -this is because ebay does not make it a rule that buyers need to help !They simply heap the whole burden on the sell who is responsible according to ebay for all damage incurred in shipping.So beware if you get a buyer who is irresponsible and unhelpful to put it politely your USPS claim may be worthless just like mine was and ebay won't step in and help.

[lindaegret8]

Agreed I am going to sell less on ebay as a result of this.At one point years ago  I was going to sell a headboard but I read that the seller is responsible and if the shipper has issues seller will pay.- so I didn't take the chance.I always assumed that the smaller items like my ill-fated casserole would be covered if damage occurred but NO only if the buyer complies so basically the priority insurance is not going to work as you have to rely on a buyer who may or many not follow through . Ebay wont support you !I was told by PayPal that they require documentation and my postal carrier told me that Amazon also requires documentation- of damage  only ebay puts the burden all on the seller!Only local pick up works  to help the seller because once it leaves its not yours ebays policies need revisions.I was very upset by this incident a

[lindaegret8]

Thank you I did all that but was told the buyer must bring it in their their local post office with all packaging.I filed online but was told evaluation would be done in person.I got a letter from the post office  about the claim saying I had 20 days from the receipt of the letter to bring the item to the post office where it was delivered with all packaging- there was NO mention of photos.Letter was dated Jan 30 now its Feb 18 so no time left.Buyer was totally uncommunicative and ignored my pleas and never acknowledged the USPS claim or tried to extend a helping hand.Ebay obviously requires no documentation of damage and they never stepped in- I kept ebay informed I told them about the letter from USPS and no one did anything.Total loss thanks again

[lindaegret8]

Sorry for all my replies - ebay puts no pressure on the buyer!This buyer was bizarre she just did not communicate except to inquire about there refund.I kept ebay informed and when I got a letter from USPS I immediately called ebay to tell them that USPS needs to see the item and all packaging by Feb 20( letter was dated Jan30 and it said you have 20 days from the receipt of the letter to bring item in)Now it is too late but despite the the fact that I constantly emailed the uncommunicative buyer and I called ebay several times no one helped.Buyer didnt answer any inquiries about the damage and ebay has no policies in place to support sellers in a situation like this.I have my doubts on the validity of the buyer there is something fishy as she asked for a second refund when the first echeck took a few days.I refunded the buyer asked her to bring  the  damaged package to her post office in at least 10 emails I gave her claim numbers explained the letter and the the time limits all to no avail-she never replied  even after getting the refund!So there is no ebay support it s a myth in my case at least!